Improvement in propelling-wheels



@"1 'i initenl Stabia @met v o i 5, fiat, @www Letters Patent No. 85,248, dated December 22, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN PROPELLING-WHEELS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom c't fina/y conce/rn Be it known that I, OHARLEs SEYMOUR, of La Po1te,ln the county of La Porte, and State of Indiana,

' have invented. certain `new and useful Improvements in Blades forSteamship-Wheels; and I do hereby de` clare Ithat the following is a full and complete descripv tion oi the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to construct the blades or paddles of Steamship-wheels in suoli form as that they will, when completely submerged in water, assume and keep a perpendicular, or nearly.perpendicular position during or while the paddle is so submerged; Iand i 1t consists in forming the paddles or blades in the ogee or s-form, in cross-section, and pivoting or journalling the blade or paddle inthe centre of its width or transverse line.

laddles or blades of `Steamship-wheels, when con- I structed and arranged in the usual manner, on radial lines, or nearlyso, and having aplane face on straight lines, have never either entered the water or left it, in the revolution ofthe wheelwithout a waste of power, by reason of their. rigidity and the direction that they enter and leave the water, and their continued change of position, with relation to the water-line, While they are in contact with the water, for, as the blades first strike the water, the angle is such that it causes great strain upon the wheel and shaft, and as the blade is raised out ofthe water, their angle of direction is such that it lifts much of the water, and in doing so as much power is expended as' would raise the weight of the water at the end of the arms of the wheel. At only one point in the revolution oi' such wheel does the blade have the best position, and that is when the blade and arm of the wheel arevertical, and such position is only for a moment, for as the wheel revolves, the position oi' the blade is changed, and then commences the-loss of power, for as soon as the bladebegins to rise, more or less oi' water is lifted by the blades, while, with the construction ofthe blades after my invention, by reason of their being pivoted in the centre of their width, and can freely turn to accommodate themselves to such position as will oii'er the least resistance to their entrance into the water, and as soon as submerged assume and maintain the perpendicular position until the wheel, in its revolution, raises the upper edge out of the water, when the blade will directly assume the best possible position to pass 'up out of thewater with the least resistance, which will be an incline, so that it raises no water, and consequently no loss of power.

Onemethod of using this invention, is to have the 'convex side ofthe blade, or that part that is below the axial'line, forward,` so that Vthe convex curvature will bc in advance ofthe terminus of the curve at the lower edge ofthe blade, and the Vupper wing of the blade will have the concave side forward, and the result will be that when completely submerged, the blade will assume the perpendicular position, and keep such position as long as it is so submerged, Y

The reason for the blades taking such position is, that the Wheel in its revolution and carrying the blades with it, the outer edge of the blade, by being at the outer periphery of the wheel, necessarily travels a greater l distance in the same'space of time than does'the inner or upper edge of such blade, and of course is impinged against the water with greater force than is expended upon the upper half of the blade, and in order to prevent such blades from leaving the perpendicular position, the curvature-of the blade below the axis is made to curve back, and that of the upper part of the blade, above the axis, curves forward,'the radius of such curvature being proportional to the diameter of the wheel. Wheels of larger diameter require the curvature of the blade to be formed on agreater radius than smaller, or wheels of less diameter.

Another method of using this same construction of blade, with substantially the same effect, is to reverse the blade, or the direction that the wheel may revolve, bringing the concave sideof the blade forwardl and at the under side of the axis oi' said blade, and the convex wing at the upper side of said axis, the only difference in the two methods being that in the latter' case the blade, at the under edge,'being concave, will not shed ufl' or pass through the water quite so readily as if convex. The blade will be slightly inclined from the l perpendicular position, until the resistance is equal on both sides of the axis, but not enough to in any case change the nearly perpendicular position in its effects,

and may be said to have better results by reason of the f blades having a more positive holdloi"- the water, by reason of the coucavity ofthe lower wing of the blade, and consequently the resistance is greater, and the ship will be moved in the water with increased velocity by the same power.

Other constructions of blades may be used as modications of my invention, Without departing from the? principle and operation as described; as, for instance, the blademay have a longitudinal curvature in each Wing, in opposite directions, on each .side of its axis, in addition t'o the transverse curvature on each wing.- Figure l, of the drawings, is a section of a wheel showing the blades;

Figure 2 is a cross-section of the same; Figure 3 is a side view of a blade; Figure 4 is a' cross-section of same, showing the cur; vature of blade; l A Figure 5 is a view looking at the edge of theblade, figs. 3 and 4; Figure 6 is an edge view ot ablade having a longi-Al thdinal curvature, as seen in shaded and dotted lines; Figure 7 is a cross-section of iigs8 and 6; and Figure S isa side'view of iigs. 6 and 7. A, in the drawings, represents a port'on of a wheel, with the blades or paddles attached.

B B are the ordinary arms.

'0, the outer rim, to which the blades are Divot/ed.

C is :in inner rim or brace.

D is the blade, es seen in'igs. 3, 4, and 5, and is made of metal, either cast or formed from plates of wrought-metal, and having journals, a, at earch longitudinal extremity, in the @entre of their width.. and on which they freely revolve.

These blades have projections or wings upon either side ofthe axial line of said journals, which wings are curved in their cross-sections, and straight upon their outer edges, as seen in igs. 4 and 5. l

Journals a work in metal boxes 1J, in rim C, and turn freely therein.

D is a. modified form of blade D, and only vznies in its construction in giving it a. longitudinal curvature, `a.s seen in gs. (i, 7, and 8. y

I :nn aware that blades or paddles in wheels have been pivoted at the centre of their width. Snel) Divoting ofthe blade I'do not claim; but

Whitt I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-' A pivoted paddle, the iice of which is in ogee-form in cross-section, or eoneaive on one side of' its longitu dinztl axis, and convex on the other, constructed to operate in the manner and for the purpose'set forth.

Witnesses: CHARLES SEYMOUR.

R. R. VAN DEUSEN, L. A. COLE. 

